Peterson Connoisseur's Choice

Smells great in the tin - and translates fairly well to the taste in the pipe. The vanilla and rum dance in and out during the smoke. A sweet, nutty, burley-like flavor comes out as I smoke through the bowl. The vanilla and rum hang on throughout - very pleasant. No problems lighting, packing, or smoking - no excessive heat. As with all Aros, and most everything, I pack the pipe by first doing a gravity feed, tapping the sides of the bowl until I fill it to the top. Then I take a moderately large pinch with three fingers and twist-pack it into the bowl, followed by uniformly crimping to the interior sides. Seems to work better than the old three step, particularly with Aros. A solid 4 star performer that consistently delivers within and across pipes.

Wow, a lovely tobacco from Petersons!

As I do with most aromatics, I dried it for a few minutes before lighting which often leaves me with a fairly dry bowl and this was no exception...

On first light my wife commented on the fantastic sweet caramel & vanilla room note, I too got a strong taste of the caramel & vanilla on the charring light, but that soon smoothed out to a wonderful bowl. No tongue bite, a nice amount of nicotine and a very consistent smoke throughout.

It's understandable why they call it Connoisseurs Choice, It's a fairly subtle flavour with wonderful Virginia's, it's not a mouth-watering aromatic, but good none the less!

Is quite long I'm not smoking aromatics after had some bad experiences with them. Is about last 3 - 4 months that I'm not smoking aromatic and just enjoying virginia, vaper, english and others non-aromatic tobacco. If I'm make order of tobaccos, definitely sure I will not order aromatic tobaccos, just put them away from my mind. Until my friend last month send me 3 tin of aromatic tobaccos and this Peterson Connoisseur Choice is one of them that had been sent to me from my friend. Not really passionated to open it so I just put them on my desk and I'm continuing my journey with non-aromatic blends until yesterday I decided to try to smoke aromatic blends again and this Peterson CC is my first try.

The tin note is just like other aromatics, wonderful, a really mouth watering scent that very tempting to smoke them in hurry. But I'm still thinking this wonderful scent/tin note just a seduction, some aromatics tobacco had different taste and flavor after it burnt on pipe and the best is just until 1/3 bowl it can tasted as same as the tin notes. I can smell wonderfull scents of vanilla, caramel, rum, a little bit banana and a little bit pineaple, so sweet and it remainds me to my favorite bubble gum that I usually chewed at my teenager age.

With ribbon cut, which is my favorite cut also with coarse cut, this stuff is easy to pack. It become in to my habbit if I'm smoking aromatics, before I pack them in to my pipe I put them into a paper and let them in open air for 10-15 minutes. This Peterson Connoisseur Choice is came to me with a nice moisture level, almost similar with the MacBarren's moisture level but I'm still worried if this stuff will soak my pipe very badly, so give an air time is still the best preventive action to enjoy well this stuff for me.

After 15 minutes air time, I made 3 layers packing in to my tamarind patrikson putu cowe pipe, which is a full bent billiard pipes, my favorite Indonesian local pipe. Make a nice charring light, tamp it with gentle and puff it with slowly, and the smoke is quite great. The taste and flavor is just like the tin note, the vanilla and caramel flavor is dancing so sweet in to my palate and my nose follows with pineapple and rum scents. It taste so sweet at my mouth and I'm surprised the smokes translate the tin notes so well. It smokes well until the half bowl, and after half bowl the taste is change in to nutty flavor that cames more dominant follows with a thin vanilla and rum, the fruity scents is starts to disappears. And the good news is, it doesn't soak my pipe very bad, still wet, but not soak my pipe very bad.

So this stuff is very good for me, at least I can smoke this stuff freely inside the house without my wife get annoyed. Thanks to my friend that is so generous to share this stuff with me and made me to found an aromatic blend that fit on my taste.

Connoisseur’s Choice is the 4th aromatic from Peterson that I’ve found to be much to my tastes, thanks to TR reviews, and I hope they keep ‘em coming. CC smelled mostly of mango, orange and peach schnapps when I popped the tin, with faint vanilla, and the bready, gold-to-brown-and-black ribbons and chunks of tobacco looked a little bit gloppy. Based on the other Peterson aros I enjoy, I took no pause from appearances, smoking my first bowlful pulled straight from the tin, as usual, and thereafter I dried it some before loading it loosely into one of my aro pipes. CC also smokes well in a VA pipe, but I have to say, it will leave a ghost. This tobacco is mostly mild, golden, flue cured VAs, along with some savory, slightly earthy, red VA, as well. The Cav is very mild and cashew nutty, Burly based, I suppose, mostly sweet, but also slightly sour, with a trace of tannin. There’s plenty of smooth, rich smoke when it’s puffed. It is mild, creamy, and delicious at the match, like buttered oatmeal over meadow grass, along with the fragrant toppings, which soon include faint, French roast coffee that can come off as chocolaty “mocha”. The rum is more like very mild rum punch, and altogether it smells and tastes nice. The tobacco burns OK with regular attention, and I like to take it very slow, like Hyde Park, but unlike Hyde Park, CC is no codger blend, being much smoother, and it’s more forgiving. Down the bowl, the coffee kicks in, and it can taste like coffee grounds, or even ashy if it gets it hot. I am prone to puff away, but this one gives me incentives to back off and take it easy. Note that the tobacco is not long in getting ahead of the toppings, but it never goes on without them. Strength is mild. Tastes ramp up gently to medium. Room note is pleasant. Aftertaste is the best of the end of the smoke, more incentive to go slowly.

Connoisseur’s Choice is another winning aro from Peterson. The tobacco is sweet, nutty, and tasty, and it plays well with the toppings, top to bottom. I am picky and fussy about “chemical” tastes. I take steps to avoid them, and I don’t get them here, albeit burned coffee is also worth avoiding, IMO. 4 stars for Connoisseur’s Choice.

One of the better aromatics I had the pleasure of smoking.

The tin aroma is a very tasty mix of dried fruit with a noticible citrus accent. It's quite a sweet, but also quite sour tobacco blend. It also has a nice level of moisture, which means that packing, lighting and smoking shouldn't be a problem. People I've smoked it in the presence of really enjoyed the room note, which is an additional big plus in my book.

I fully recommend it to anyone who finds themselves enjoying a good aromatic.

New to pipe smoking, I find myself reaching for this blend more than any other.

Very easy to work with (pack and light). I was amazed upon opening the tin and was not disappointed when I curiously filled my favourite Savinelli. Was not disappointed.

Very smooth. I didn't notice any bite (though admittedly, I smoked this one way, way too fast; have since slowed down). I love the taste!!! It is the War Departments' favourite aroma and the neighbours came out and asked what that smell was.

Highly recommended.

I am not an aromatic fan. To be honest, I rarely smoke aromatics (as rare as once in two or three years). I found this particular blend in my search for a decent aromatic which could please the people around. I mean, why not? What did I gain in my 25 years of pipe smoking by being a purist? Aro smokers get all the slow clapping, and they pay 1/4 or much less than what I am paying. I am telling you, it's not fair. Regardless, I started making a list of aromatics that I thought would not leave me gagging. Cut to chase, I narrowed the list and finally decided on Peterson Connoisseur's Choice. Boy, was I spot? Tin aroma, burning quality, taste, and room note all matched my expectations: no dottle, no gurgling, no bite. I can see how some could smoke this all day, though I won't. I will keep it for occasions where I am not allowed to stink people to death! Oh, and yes, this one deserves slow clapping. I recommend it to all purists and highly recommend it to aromatic smokers.

PS. I did not write anything about the taste now, did I? It is tiramisu in tobacco form. Virginia pops now and then, followed by tiramisu taste. It's all in there coffee, whiskey, fruity rum, vanilla, and caramel. They all stand out but also blend in harmony as they would be in a Tiramisu

Extremely Fruity, Peterson has done a great job creating this blend. The tin aroma boasts of rum, vanilla, liqueur and did i said fruit? oh yeah christmas fruityness with a strong hint of molasses.

Heavens for the purveryors of aromatic blends and a nice break for eclectic pipe smokers like me.

T'was mid 2014 and I was but a mere urchin in the vast lands of pipe smoking and other gentlemanly smoking skills. I picked up the pipe for the first time, thanks to my fiancee at that time. It was the second aromatic I picked up from Peterson after a tragic experience with Sunset Breeze. Instead of blaming the blend I would rather blame my lack of smoking skills at that time.

The journey to love this tobacco was a difficult one, after smoking it in all the pipes I had in my possession at that time, it still burnt hot and tasted like ash. After smoking half a tin of the Peterson "tinder". I jarred it up and forgot about it for about 2 years.

Fast forward to today, Hallelujah !! I can taste figs !! Yes friggin' figs with a strong presence of liquor, molasses and fruit. Fruit as in a Christmas fruit cake, tutti frutti exploding like little delicious sweet bombs inside my mouth. It is indeed an aromatic leaf lover's dream come true.

The blend burns slow. Sipping it at a very slow cadence brings out the best of the blend. Do not be impatient with this beauty or it will smite your tongue for a few days. The experience remains the same throughout the bowl, right from the start to the finish. Minor dottle and lots of fine ash at the end.

A gentleman or a Lady would always prefer this blend in one a classy corn cob pipe. I chose the Danish Spool Corn Cob for this fantastic journey. You may however, choose any cob you desire.

An extremely light smoke, the room note is fantastic. Non-smokers will love you. If you are as wise as I am today you will choose to throw a few tins in a mason jar and forget about it for a couple of years. You will thank me later. On the other hand, if you fail to age this blend for an appropriate time, the experience may vary for you.

Peterson's Connoisseur's Choice is a high quality blend. Don't let the Latakia elitists tell your otherwise.

Another good aromatic from Peterson. Taste is a nice mix of vanilla and rum over Virgina and black cavendish tobaccos. There is a hint of maple but not overpowering. One of my favorites.